TSU Agrees to Holding Spring Semester in Hybrid Format
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, May 13, 2022
Tbilisi State University released an announcement, according to which the educational process in the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year will be held in a mixed (hybrid) format from May 13.
A corresponding change was made in the Rector's order of August 2, 2021 on determining the terms of the study process.
“According to the rector's order, the decision on the format of the educational program or its components is made by the relevant faculty taking into account the specifics of the programs. In addition, the final and additional exams for the spring semester of the 2021-2022 academic year will be conducted in a non-distance format. Exceptions will be allowed for those students who are in the occupied territory of Georgia,” the statement reads.
The student movement has responded to the administration's decision.
According to the statement, the new wording of the rector's order, on the one hand, provides for the provision of hybrid teaching, although the proposed format of the exams is fully in auditoriums, which is unacceptable to them, because ‘it incurs costs, which, given the difficult social background, will make it impossible to attend the final exams’.
From May 2 (or the remaining half of the semester) at TSU, by the decision of the University, the teaching process was fully transferred to the auditorium.
Students demanded to have an opportunity to study remotely during the remaining period, as returning to the auditorium is associated with many socio-economic barriers that cannot be addressed during the period given to students. They say students living in the region are unable to arrive for only 2 months, facing many barriers due to increased rents. Students also raise the issue of housing policy at the university.
According to the university, full auditory studying is a necessary decision to improve the quality of education, because, they say, no other format - neither fully remote nor hybrid - can provide the necessary quality of teaching.
